STATE OF CALIFORNIA DIANE WOODRUFF, INTERIM CHANCELLOR   California Community Colleges System Office 1102 Q street Sacramento, Ca  95811-6549 (916) 445-8752 http://www.cccco.edu

 

July 3, 2008

 

 

Dear Colleagues:

 

The System Office Strategic Plan, Goal Area C (Partnerships for Economic and Workforce Development) directs the community colleges to “define and address long-range economic and workforce trends.”   In fulfillment of that effort, am pleased to send you this compendium of reports produced by the 10 regional Centers of Excellence, one of the Initiatives of the Economic and Workforce Development Program (EWDP) within my division.  The Centers of Excellence study the State’s regional economies to identify and research emerging and expanding industries and occupations, validate their findings with industry, and produce regional reports. 

 

Currently there are 60 reports, each contains information on career pathways, industry skill requirements and related workforce needs, labor market projections, and key industry contacts.  Community colleges have used these reports to develop or update programs, build advisory boards, expand industry partnerships, and seek grants or other resources.  These reports can be accessed and are regularly updated at www.coeccc.net.

 

This compendium also references additional studies conducted for four of the EWDP Initiatives.  These reports give a higher level view of what the longer-term future may hold in areas that are emerging.    The studies, which can be accessed at www.cccewd.net , focus on Advanced Manufacturing, Nanotechnology/MEMS, Biotechnology, and Intelligent Transportation Systems. 

 

Customized reports for individual community college districts are also available through the Centers of Excellence.  For more information, or to request a report, please contact Elaine Gaertner, Statewide Director, at elaineg@cccewd.net.

 

I encourage you to review these reports for use in planning and curriculum development for your Career Technical Education, Contract Education, and Community/Continuing Education Programs, as well as for engaging education partners, local Workforce Investment Boards, industry contacts, and local economic development organizations.  Please feel free to widely share this information.

 

More information

 

Sincerely,

 

José

 

Jose Millan

Vice Chancellor

Economic Development and Workforce Preparation Division

California Community Colleges – System Office